In New York, they were hanging in the Knicks’ lockers. ”Can’t Stop NY Knicks,” they read. ”2013 Division Champions.”
The Knicks clinched their first Atlantic Division title since 1994 behind 36 points from Carmelo Anthony, whose lead over Durant in the scoring race climbed to three-tenths of a point — 28.6 to 28.3 — as he attempts to prevent Durant from becoming just the third players in NBA history to lead the league in scoring four consecutive seasons. (Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan were the others.)
Chants of ”Playoffs! Playoffs! Playoffs!” rang down from the Warriors’ 30th consecutive sellouts crowd after Golden State clinched a postseason berth — its first since 2007 — by defeating Minnesota, 105-89.
”I was chanting playoffs,” smiling owner Joe Lacob said in the locker room. ”I’m happy, too. We’re excited. We should be. We should enjoy this. I’ve got my son (assistant general manger Kirk Lacob), he’s very competitive. He’s like, ‘Why are we celebrating?’ But the truth is, I told him, ‘You’ve got to celebrate the little moments, too. Every step counts. This is an important first step for this franchise.”
Golden State (45-33) remains a game ahead of Houston (44-34) for the Western Conference’s sixth seed. Both teams have four games remaining. The Rockets hold the tiebreaker.
In the East, with the Bulls losing again as the Derrick Rose saga finally got journalists in Chicago wondering whether Rose and management are on the same page regarding his comeback, the Raptors came into to town and gave Bryan Colangelo another decade of job security with a 101-98 victory.
The loss left Chicago just a half-game ahead of Atlanta in the Eastern Conference with five to play. It also damaged its chances of catching Brooklyn for the fourth seed and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
On a positive note, Richard Hamilton finally returned for the Sleeping Giants, although Joakim Noah did not.
Raise your hand if you had Malcolm Thomas on the floor for a 4th-quarter comeback attempt this season. (Not you, Mrs. Thomas.)
— K.C Johnson (@KCJHoop) April 10, 2013
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Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.